Mother Sees Child Killed In Hit-and Run Accident

Ariel McNeal stood at the end of the driveway, laughing and smiling as she waited for her mother.

Katrina McNeal, Ariel's mom, grabbed her 20-month-old son and started out the front door about 9:40 a.m. Tuesday.

A white van with dark tinted windows zoomed west on Northeast 41st Street.

As it passed, McNeal watched in horror as it hit the little girl and rolled her underneath.

The impact knocked a little blue slipper from 4-year-old Ariel's foot and a red ponytail holder from her pigtail.

``That van came flying out of nowhere, like it was on I-95,'' a red-eyed McNeal said.

There are two versions of what came next, according to witnesses: The driver stopped, got out, looked at Ariel, got back in and took off; or, the van sped off westbound and then turned south onto Northeast Fifth Avenue near Pompano Beach.

The results were the same.

About 11 a.m., two Florida Highway Patrol troopers and a paramedic approached Katrina McNeal as she stood in her front yard with relatives and friends. One did not need to be nearby to understand what they said.

A shrill series of cries erupted as McNeal fell to the grass in grief.

Ariel had died.

The accident was about 12 blocks from where two brothers were hit by a car less than a week before. Christopher Johnson, 11, died at the scene of that accident in the 5300 block of Northeast Ninth Avenue. His brother, Jarvis Johnson, 7, was injured.

Those who live near McNeal said drivers frequently speed along Northeast 41st Street, although it is not a connector to major roadways. Broward County sheriff's officials said they have not received complaints of speeding in the area.

In the accident that killed Ariel, the van has not been found and its driver has not come forward.

``That's the thing I can't understand. They have no conscience,'' said Andre McNeal, Ariel's father. ``It's like, if no one sees them, they don't get caught.''

The irresponsibility of the driver angers investigators as well.

Police thought they might have a tag number, but the lead was wrong.

``Any animal that would hit a child and go away is that, an animal,'' Highway Patrol Cpl. Jerry Robbins said.

There is virtually no evidence, Robbins said.

There are no marks showing that the driver braked or went off the road, Robbins said.

All investigators have to go on is Ariel's body and the accounts of witnesses.

Anyone with information about the vehicle or the accident should call the Florida Highway Patrol at 954-845-6007.